Project Scope: A total of 169 one-, two-, two-bedroom-and-den, and three-bedroom homes, including 13 townhomes with street access, in a 26-storey concrete highrise tower in the southernmost part of the Metrotown community plan. Access to both Expo and Millennium SkyTrain lines and the Central Valley Greenway bike route.

Prices: Current pricing from $473,900; for additional pricing information, call the sales centre

An architect’s inspiration for a building can come from anywhere: movies, myths, songs — even the design-rich world of the automobile.

For senior architect Robert Duke it was the name “Imperial”— Amacon’s Development’s highrise residential offering in the Metrotown neighbourhood of Burnaby — that triggered a rush of ideas about the building’s design.

“With every new project I do, I visit the site to see anything that may be referential to the design of the building,” said the senior associate at Chris Dikeakos Architects. “And in this case, the client had already decided that they were going to use the street name, Imperial, for the building which will sit on Imperial street.”

“As I was driving around, I noticed some older cars in the area, which kind of tweaked me on to Imperial, as in the car,” he said, referring to the luxury automobile Chrysler built between 1926 to 1993 to compete with GM’s Cadillac and Ford’s Lincoln Continental.

“They were beautiful and long and they have a very nice grille, said Duke. “ So I was trying to think about how I could incorporate that kind of sleek geometry into the building,

“I was interested in making the balconies on the east side and the west side really long continuous ones that end up having a profile of the grille of the (Chrysler Imperial) radiator. It was like the grille floating above the ground.”

Duke said there were other factors that ultimately determined the design of the 26-storey concrete tower, including the odd L-shaped lot. In order to accommodate the client’s call for ground-level townhomes, he designed a “skybridge” that joined one arm of the “L” to the main building. The 13 street-level two-floor townhouses — some stacked one above the other—include some live-work models with 350-square-foot work spaces with direct access to the street.

The separated townhouse also allowed for the creation of a dramatic lobby with 18-foot-high ceilings and a porte-cochere — a covered area for cars to drop off passengers — which was well received by the City of Burnaby.

As well, the project’s name made the choice of colour for the building’s façade — panels done in a shade of royal blue — an obvious one, he said.

The luxury theme has been carried through in other aspects of Imperial, including “a hotel-inspired concept” for the interiors of the 169 homes, says Grace Austin, manager of marketing and sales for developer Amacon.

“Given that Amacon owns and operates the Loden Hotel (in downtown Vancouver), it was a concept we felt comfortable with,” she said. “We wanted that first coming-in-the-door experience to be like walking into a hotel.” Owners will have the benefit of a true concierge “rather than a security guard in a uniform,” refrigerated parcel service, art sculptures in the lobby and even bones for owners’ dogs. Three high-speed elevators serve the homes above.

Inside the homes, Amacon is offering a package of specs that exceed the average offerings, including three colour options of cashmere grey, pearl white and suede (natural wood). Each suite has ample his-and-her walk-in closets, vanities with pull-out wire basket organizer drawers, and the option of a hotel-style safe for personal valuables in the master bedroom ensuite. Air conditioning is standard.

The hotel concept was adopted with the end user in mind, said Louise Noon, an associate with False Creek Design Group, which worked with Amacon on the interiors.

“We also work with some major hotel hospitality brands and where we can we try and bring that into a residential product.,” said Noon. “It’s a very tailored approach to the interiors and there is a lot of consideration given to selecting high performance finishes and lifestyle enhancement features.”

Common amenities are luxurious, but affordable, Austin said. They include a games room, meeting room, music room, a fitness centre, a yoga/dance studio and a large dining hall where owners can host parties “for 50 people, where everyone gets a seat.”

A social lounge area spills on to outdoor furnished and landscaped space Amacon has provided for garden plots for residents, she said.

The suites themselves feature wide-plank laminate wood floors, roller shades on all windows, and nine-foot ceilings in most areas of the home. Kitchens feature a 30-inch integrated appliance package (24-inch in the one-bedroom home), a convection wall oven and five-burner cooktop , a slide-out fan and microwave with trim kit in most homes, an integrated dishwasher and a microwave with trim. All homes have a large-capacity front-loading washer and dryer.

Cabinetry is full height soft-close doors and drawers. The waterfall style countertop is made of polished quartz stone. The large-format 24-inch tiled backsplash is in stone-style travertine, onyx or marble.

Polished quartz stone is also used in the bathroom, which features a modern rectangular porcelain sink. The ensuite bathroom includes a frameless glass shower with a rain head and a handheld wand. The medicine cabinet is framed and mirrored with an extended ledge.

Underground, residents will have exclusive use of a BMW i3 electric vehicle and a bike-share program, a bike repair bench and two stalls for washing cars.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.